Since the early days of alternative music, the city of Sheffield has been a place where underground artists can forge their career and make great music. In this series, Mad Sounds with Jake Bollington, I document the sounds of the city by speaking with the bands that you need to know about.
This week, I sat down with Nathan and Jake from indie band The False Flag, a five-piece group with influences spanning from Frank Turner to Blink-182. Their new singles ‘Heart Alarm’ and ‘Wonder’ have had strong success on streaming, and their forthcoming single ‘Changing’ is set to be released in the near future.
The group has had a winding and complex journey to get to where they are today, from their beginnings as a four-piece instrumental group to their present line-up with vocalist Nathan, who joined just over a year ago. We began by discussing this evolution, and how the band has arrived at their present sound.
NATHAN: [The other members] spent a couple of years jamming and rehearsing and writing without a singer, and then I came in and put vocals on top. Sometimes the structure would move around a bit, or the key would change but the essence of the songs was still there… and that was interesting for me to do because separating the vocals from the melody and the instrumentation was something that I found challenging… but that meant we had stuff to go. We had about eight tracks, and as soon as we had those eight tracks ready, we were like ‘Right, book the venue! Let’s do a gig!’
JAKE: For the last two or three gigs, it’s felt like it’s really clicked! Particularly the last gig we did. We played Hallamshire Hotel again, and we headlined that one…
NATHAN: What’s exciting now is we are working on an EP, and we’ve got some material already. We’re working on new songs. It’s our first time writing together as the five [of us] … At the minute [the new songs] are already looking a bit more experimental. It’s already looking a bit more alternative… but it’s only ever in the song’s best interests. There’s no point trying to do something avant garde for the sake of it, to try and be clever. There’s none of that b—-cks! (laughs)
Their forthcoming EP, as well as their recently released singles reflect a diverse number of influences that set the group apart from their contemporaries. The pair clued me into their way of working, and how they differentiate themselves from other bands around them.
NATHAN: I think I certainly come from a more self-deprecating lyrical background… When I’ve been writing music for myself a lot of it is, for a lack of a better phrase, quite emo. Sometimes quick existential, quite dark and obviously that leaked through on songs like ‘Heart Alarm’… I quite liked Frank Turner growing up, and his sort of culpable sense of songwriting. He’s always very self-critical and I like that because I think I’m like that with myself.
JAKE: There’s loads of little things in there that have always just given us something a little bit different to everyone else.
In addition to their singles, the group also maintain an active social media presence, releasing music videos, concert footage, visual art and lyric videos. I asked them both about being a band in a digital age, and if they ever felt pressured to produce such a significant amount of promotional material.
NATHAN: We don’t sell out with the content. What it needs to be is you need to show people you’re making an effort and trying to do something… When people say, ‘Why can’t it just be about the music?’ It’s like, when has it ever just been about the music? It’s about the live show. It’s about the fashion even. The Beatles had their haircuts… It’s about the interviews. It’s about the iconic moments, the famous events. Every musician you’ve ever been inspired by, there’s a million and one things going on with them.
In our conversation, the group and I spoke about everything from LINKIN PARK to the Arctic Monkeys, and I came away floored by the band’s meticulous approach to creativity. With the thought that they put into every aspect of their craft, it’s no wonder that their songs are resonating with people. I thank them for sitting down with me.
The group will be supporting Revivalry at Hallamshire Hotel on the 23rd of October and are headed to London on the 24th of November for a show at The Star in Shoreditch. Their single ‘Changing’ is forthcoming.
Image Credit: Nathan Dunn
